Lone Mastermind
by CreativePunk77
Summary: Prime Minister's Brain AU. With Harvey out of the picture, it is left up to Ingrid to defeat the 'lame' Octopus.
1. Chapter One: Exit Harvey

**CHAPTER ONE: EXIT HARVEY**

If it were up to Ingrid, Harvey James Hunter would never _not_ be by her side. Not that she was an obsessive girlfriend or anything, but it hurt her so much to not be able to see him whenever she felt like it. She wouldn't be able to just pop over to his house or message him in the middle of the night. Harvey was going away for a _whole month_ and what was worse, was that he wouldn't have any method of communication with _anyone_ outside of Aero Camp.

So Ingrid found herself on Monday morning, the first week into Summer Holidays, begging Harvey not to leave.

"Do you really have to go?" She rubbed his bare arms gently, smiling warmly at him.

Harvey sighed, lowering his head slightly. His fringe flopped into his eyes, and he jerked his head to clear his vision.

"Yes… Mum's paid for it, Ing."

"Can't you get a refund?"

"On the morning I'm meant to go?" He chuckled. "I don't think so. Besides, I really want to go to Aero Camp."

" _Aero Camp."_ She snorted. "Sounds lame."

A look of offence cast over Harvey's face. "It's not. It's interesting and I'm sorry, Ingy, but I'm going, and that's that."

The offended look moved onto Ingrid's own features. Her hands fell away from his arms and she stepped back.

"You're leaving, just like that?"

"Ingrid. I'm not just leaving without a goodbye. I will miss you so much…" His voice cracked. "I-I just want to go to this C-Camp so badly. Mum said that now I'm eleven, she trusts me enough to let me go, and I'll e-enjoy it more…"

He swiped an arm across his face, mumbling: "I will miss you, SPLAT and M-Mum and Dad, but I'm glad it's not local. I wouldn't w-want to run into anyone who I know there…"

She understood who her boyfriend was referring too, and quickly did her best to reassure him.

"Harv-Harv, if _Jeff_ or anyone who has teased you in the past is there, punch them right in the face."

Harvey cringed. "I thought you were going to say ignore them and walk away…"

"I'm not Mandy, am I?" She sniggered. Harvey beamed back, before drawing her into a hug, whispering into her ear;

"I'm going to miss you so much. P-Promise you w-won't forget me…?"

Pulling back, Ingrid whacked Harvey in the arm. "Moron! You're my boyfriend! I would never forget about you, dump you or cheat on you! I love you too much to do any of that! You've got to be more confident in yourself, Harv-Harv!"

"Yeah, well… it's hard."

"I know." whispered Ingrid, but she couldn't really relate, as she had always been filled with confidence, sometimes too much for her own good.

A car horn honked nearby, and Mrs Hunter stuck her head out of the open window.

"Come on, Harvey! We need to get going!"

"In a minute, Mum!"

He stared at Ingrid lovingly, before encasing her lips with his own. They snogged passionately for a full minute, before Harvey broke away with a gasp, asthma pump wrenched out of his pocket.

Ingrid smoothed her tongue over her lips as Harvey pocketed the inhaler and pressed a chaste kiss to her forehead.

"Love you. See you later."

She folded her arms over her chest, tilting her head in amusement as Harvey made his way over to the family car and climbed into the front passenger seat. Mrs Hunter called out a goodbye to Ingrid from the driver's side, before starting up the engine and backing out of the drive. Harvey waved at her from behind the wind screen, and Ingrid returned the wave with a waggle of her fingers, smile dropping as soon as the car was out of sight.

Not wanting to stick around and lament her boyfriend's departure, Ingrid returned home, preparing to lock herself away in her room, stuff herself silly and watch dozens of comedies.

* * *

Alas, her plans fell through as soon as she arrived home. For Mandy was waiting for her in the living room.

"Hey Ingrid, did you get to see Harvey before he left?"

Masking her pain, Ingrid nodded and sat down on the sofa beside her neighbour and friend.

"Yeah. What you here for?"

Mandy was used to Ingrid's blunt way of speaking, so pressed on with an answer.

"Lloyd wants everyone to gather at the Shed. We're going to be discussing our plans for the Summer. I can't wait! I _love_ Summer!"

"Same… when Harvey's around. Why are we having a SPLAT meeting _without Harvey?_ Oh, this is going to suck! I already miss him like mad!"

Mandy slung an arm around the younger girl's neck and said warmly: "Hey, I know it'll be hard for you without Harvey, but you still have us! We may be a member down, but Harvey would want you to enjoy yourself with the rest of SPLAT! He's been looking forward to this trip for ages, Ingrid, and if it comes to it, you can always write to him. I know the Camp doesn't allow anyone to get in contact with any of the members unless it's an emergency, but you can always try."

"Mmh, true." Ingrid smiled. "Actually, you've really cheered me up. Thanks, Mands!"

"No problem. Now, should we go to the Shed?"

"Yeah."

Mandy slipped her arm from around Ingrid's neck and stood up. "Great, and don't worry, before you know it, Harvey will have finished Camp and be back home."


	2. Chapter Two: Octopus Dare Craze

**CHAPTER TWO: OCTOPUS DARE CRAZE**

Two days after Harvey had departed, and their Summer plans had been discussed, SPLAT made their way towards the school's computer club. Truthfully, Ingrid thought it was a lame activity, but it was what the rest of the group wanted to do, and she counted on at least one good game to be available at the club for her to play.

When they got to the computer club, Ingrid resisted the urge to curl her lips into a sneer. As expected, the room looked _lame,_ and she'd rather be anywhere else but there at that point in time.

"Ingrid, there's a spare computer at the end. You can use that one, and we'll use the ones along here."

"Oh, thanks. Isolating me, cheers for that."

"Ingrid, stop it."

"What? Come on, Lloyd, it's a joke. Get over yourself."

Lloyd huffed and sat down in the nearest chair, as Ingrid rolled her eyes at his dramatics and ventured over to her chosen computer. Sitting down, she booted up the machine, sneering at the pitiful amount of games available.

' _This sucks! If my Harv-Harv were here, it wouldn't be so lame!'_

She chose the first game the mouse hovered over and clicked, the screen title floating up in front of her.

"Octopus Dare?" She rolled her eyes. "Lame!"

The person next to her turned their head and snarled: "Don't dismiss the Octopus."

Ingrid recoiled in fake shock, hand to her chest. "Oh, I'm so sorry for dissing your precious Octopus," She mocked. "Didn't realise it was so good!" She snorted and glared at the person who had confronted her.

"Why don't you shut up and let me play, yeah? I don't even know you and you're getting all up in my face. Back off now, or I'll make you."

Luckily for the attacker, they made a wise decision and backed away, leaving Ingrid to smile sarcastically after them.

"See you later, prick." She whispered under her breath as she turned her attention back to the computer screen. Clicking on the start option, Ingrid watched the Octopus dance across the screen towards the treasure chest. Her eye lids drooped and she supported her chin with a fisted hand.

"Oh boy, how riveting… Hurry up! Get me that treasure!"

As soon as she gained control of the Octopus, she let her arm drop, both hands on the keyboard, where she mashed at the buttons madly as the Octopus darted across the screen to the different treasure boxes.

"Bloody thing, no, no, no! Get it! Stupid Octopus, MOVE! Oh, bloody hell…"

Feeling eyes on her, Ingrid whipped her head round and snapped: "What the hell you looking at?!"

A large group looked back at her coolly, an older girl speaking in response.

"You shouldn't speak about the Octopus like that."

The youngest member of SPLAT slapped her hand on the table in hysteria. "Sweetheart, I can say what I want, when I want, to who I want. It's made up. The Octopus doesn't have feelings."

"Don't be mad just because you're not good at the game."

"Oi, I wasn't talking to you! And I don't care if I do suck at this game! IT SUCKS!"

Pushing her chair back so that it scraped along the floor noisily, Ingrid rocketed to her feet and hollered:

"Octopus Dare? More like Octopus CRAP!"

She was aware of all the attention now focussed onto her, but she didn't care. This idiot needed to be put into their place!

"The effects are shocking and the Octopus just dances around! THIS GAME SUCKS!"

"I would take that comment back if I were you."

"Are you threatening me?" Ingrid snorted. "We're not in a gangster film. I know you're not going to whip out a knife or anything."

Lloyd and the others came up to the side of the group. "Ingrid, settle down."

"I'm allowed to have an opinion, Lloyd! This _girl_ is not allowing me to express my opinion!"

"You're making a scene, Ing."

"Mandy, I am trying very hard not to make one."

"So, step away from the computer and either play another game or go somewhere else." Lloyd said firmly. "We don't want to exclude you, Ingrid, but I think you need to cool off."

Usually, she would have screamed her head off at him for daring to order her about, but she decided to be mature about the situation. Nodding, Ingrid stepped away from the computer and headed towards the door, murmuring:

"I'm going for a walk. I'll see you guys later."

Her footsteps faded down the corridor, SPLAT turning their attention to Octopus Dare.

* * *

Hours after she had returned home from her walk, Ingrid lay on her bed, phone to her ear. Barely any of her texts to SPLAT had been provided with responses, and a small part of her was worried. That game seemed twisted and messed up… what if something was going on with the game itself?

To shake her nerves, she had decided to call Harvey, and was currently waiting for someone to pick up on the other line. Ingrid stared up at the ceiling, scrutinising her fingernails. A sudden crackle made her jerk and she let her hand flop onto the bed as she pleaded with the man to let her speak to Harvey.

After getting through to her boyfriend, having spouted out 'family emergency' to the person who had picked up the other end, Ingrid beamed broadly.

"Hey, you."

"Hey, Alex said something about a family emergency. What's going on?"

"Alex?"

"The guy who you just spoke too." Harvey replied. "Is everyone alright, Ing?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah! There is no family emergency… and before you nag me, I only said it so I can talk to you. They're well strict at this camp you're at."

Harvey sighed down the phone. "It's annoying, I can't talk to any of SPLAT for ages!"

"You're talking to me though!" Ingrid's smile vanished. "Harv, I have to ask you… Do you know anything about the 'Octopus'?"

At her boyfriend's negative response, she clarified her meaning. "How about the Octopus game? 'Octopus Dare', some crap like that?"

"Yeah, I played it on my first night here."

Ingrid froze, her hand tensing around her phone.

"It was stupid. We went to the local arcade in the camp's minivan and we all played the game on the machine there." He paused briefly, and when he resumed speaking, his voice was quieter. "Ing, everyone loved the game, _except me._ On our way back to the camp, everyone was complaining about wanting to stay longer to play the Octopus. The staff here kept having to say that no computer games are allowed to be played here, but everyone moaned about it all night. They wanted to _'see the Octopus'."_

"Well, damn."

"I don't like it, Ingrid. I t-thought the Octopus was lame, I don't get the appeal!"

"Me neither, but Harv-Harv, we are going to remain sane, even if we get hate for not worshiping the 'Octopus.'"

"Okay… Do the others worship it?"

Ingrid bit her lip worriedly, but the tone of her voice did not convey her anxiety. "Course not. SPLAT are smarter than that. They won't be sucked in by a gimmick dancing around on a screen."


	3. Chapter Three: Fall Out

**CHAPTER THREE: FALL OUT**

Over the next few days, Ingrid was continuously dragged to the Computer Club by her friends, who would constantly harp on about the 'Octopus' and how much they loved it. Ingrid wanted to gag every time she heard about the lame gimmick, but until now, she had kept her thoughts to herself. She settled herself onto one of the tables and watched as the rest of SPLAT sat down in front of computers and instantly become absorbed in the Octopus game.

It was stupid and pathetic, and she had had enough.

"Guys? Can we go now? I'm bored!"

Lloyd, never taking his eyes off the screen, muttered: "No, Ingrid. We just got here."

"But we've been here for like five days now! I want to do something different!"

"We can do, later. We want to play Octopus Dare first."

" _You have been playing it for several days straight."_ Ingrid hissed. "Do something else!"

"Ingrid," Mandy murmured to the screen. "Don't shout."

"Don't shout? Don't shout?! Oh, I'll give you a fucking shout."

"Language, Ingrid!" Lloyd snapped.

Ingrid rolled her eyes, then scoffed as she noticed that they were all still transfixed by their computer screens.

"Honestly, you lot are obsessed with that bloody game. I don't know why. It's just a stupid Octopus!"

That seemed to awaken the rest of SPLAT from their self-induced coma and they all turned to glare at her, Lloyd making his tone condescending.

"That is enough. There is no need to insult the game, just because _you_ cannot grasp the basic controls."

"Basic controls?!" Ingrid's body shook with laughter. "Mate, the game is utter crap!"

Lloyd stood up so fast that his chair scraped back with a screech and his knuckles turned milky white from the result of putting his hands into fists.

"The game isn't crap! You can't appreciate greatness!"

Launching herself off the table, Ingrid yelled: "This is not greatness! It's a stupid game about a stupid octopus that everyone is addicted to! I don't understand it!"

"You should play it more then. You haven't given it a fair chance."

"Look, Mands, you're my friend, but it doesn't mean I have to listen to what you say. I'm fed up of this game and being dragged here day after day. Why can't we do something _I_ want to do? Can we not go to the arcade?"

"We want to stay here." Ian said firmly.

"Well, I don't!"

"Life isn't fair, Ingrid, and there are four votes against you to stay here. So, we're staying." Lloyd seemed to smirk cruelly. "Harvey isn't here right now, so you have no one to defend you."

"Oh don't worry, your brother _would_ back me up. I've spoken to him by the way and he hates the Octopus game too, so there!"

"Maybe it is because you're not intelligent enough to _understand_ the game. No wonder both you and Harvey are the only ones who don't appreciate such greatness."

The room went silent and Ingrid's ears tuned to an alternative frequency, a high pitched ringing. She felt her blood boil beneath her skin. The fucking Orphan had mocked both her and her boyfriend's intelligence and she would pay!

Holding up a hand, Ingrid aired Dinah's comment, simply stating:

"I don't have to put up with people of lower class. I'd rather be at home alone than hang round you _freaks_ when you're playing this _stupid_ game and yes, it is stupid! I'll associate with you when you're all back to your usual selves!"

She flounced out of the Computer Club and left the school, heading home without a moment of hesitation.

* * *

Ingrid slammed the front door behind her so hard that the framed pictures shook and nearly fell off the wall and onto the floor. Fists curled in outrage, she gritted her teeth. Stupid SPLAT with their stupid fetish for dancing Octopuses.

"Ing? You okay?"

Her Mum was standing at the top of the stairs, staring at her in fright. Her daughter's temper was well-known and any flare up of it was avoided at all costs, but obviously something had happened between her and her friends.

"Ingrid? You were fine when you went out earlier. Did something happen with you and the others?"

Her daughter grunted. "Bloody friends… They're still playing that stupid game! I'm sick of it! I want to do something other than play a game that has DANCING OCTOPUSES!"

Mrs Smith winced and quickly hurtled down the stairs, steering Ingrid into the living room with an arm around her shoulder. She sat her down and held her close, wanting to comfort her daughter the best she could.

"Is this the same game that you didn't enjoy playing?"

"Yeah, Mum, where the hell have you been?"

Used to the manner Ingrid addressed her in when she was annoyed, Mrs Smith waited for her to continue.

"So we've been to the Computer Club for like five days now and each time, they get hooked on that game and I'm stuck there not wanting to play it and I've got no one else to talk to cause everyone is obsessed with the bloody Octopus. I had an argument with them and I left the Club. I literally came straight home so I'm fuming, basically."

"Okay, okay. I know you're upset and I can understand why. It's never nice to have a falling out with friends, but I have a suggestion and I know you're not going to like it." Before Ingrid could complain however, her mother pressed forward with the suggestion. "How about you try and play the game a bit more? See why your friends like it so much? Give it one more go, then if you still don't like it, tell your friends because then they can see that you've given it a fair chance. Do you think you can do that?"

Ingrid scowled fiercely. "Fine. Only cause you've suggested it, Mum."


	4. Chapter Four: Rejected

**CHAPTER FOUR: REJECTED**

"I'm back, bitches!"

The expected comment on her 'bad' language was shot back to her by Lloyd, but like they had been an hour and a half earlier, their eyes were glued to the screens in front of them. Ingrid ambled over to her group and sat down in the empty chair next to Lloyd, switching on the blank monitor.

"There you go, Ingrid, knew you'd be swayed over to our side of thinking." Ian smiled at her and Ingrid shuddered. He was smiling at her still and she vanished his smile by making a quick quip.

"Alright, sounds like you're part of a bloody cult or something."

She turned her attention back to the computer, clicking on the Octopus Dare symbol to load up the game. The loading screen showed the green Octopus squiggling back and forth across the loading bar. Ingrid's eyes followed it, but it wasn't charming or clever, it was annoying and creepy. But she had to give this damn game a chance, her Mum had said so.

When the game had loaded up, Ingrid began to play it, moving the Octopus back and forth in order to get closer to the treasure. The main objective was simple enough, but it didn't intrigue her or grip her interest.

"The Octopus isn't even mesmerising. This game looks so cheap, like the budget was five quid or something. Oh come on! That's so fake! Where the hell is the treasure? This game is too long, I have a short attention span, I need something that will keep my mind engaged! _This is so lame!"_

Her sneering commentary continued until the other occupants of the room could not stand it anymore. Standing to their feet, they all marched over to where Ingrid sat, the rest of SPLAT ripping their gazes away from their screens to glare at the youngest member.

"We have had enough of you complaining about Octopus Dare. Please leave the room."

Ingrid snapped her head round, the Octopus dissolving as it collided with the wall. She glowered round at the assembled crowd, flashing her friends a dismissive look, before speaking.

"Fine. I gave this dumb game another go, but it is still _lame._ I'm going now. You don't need to escort me out."

Ingrid got out of her chair and strode past everyone, slamming the side of her fist against the open door on her way out. The pain hit her, but she willed it away. She couldn't show any weakness in front of these Octopus fantasists. She moved down the corridor, aiming to head to the local McDonalds. Buying some takeaway would take her mind off of the rejection she felt at the hands of her friends and she needed to binge watch multiple episodes of the latest box set she was into, which thankfully did not involve Octopuses.

Arriving at the McDonalds, Ingrid entered the restaurant and ordered a hefty meal, not caring if she was judged for it. No boyfriend to share her food with and the eyes of her friends glued to computer screens meant that Ingrid wanted to eat her food in the company and silence of her own bedroom.

She left with the bag in one hand, the other curled round the milkshake she was currently sipping. She didn't need the rest of SPLAT. Having obeyed her Mum's wishes to test the game out again, Ingrid felt that her patience was up. Whenever her friends were ready to be friends again, she would be there, but for now, she was willing to stuff her face and relax in front of the television.


	5. Chapter Five: Competition Winner

**CHAPTER FIVE: COMPETITION WINNER**

Stomach heaving of greasy fast food, Ingrid's eyes were firmly glued to the television screen. Episode after episode was lodging into her mind, and she had a sinister thought pop into her head that sent her hand flying across the bed to snatch the remote.

' _What if the Headmaster was using TV to take over the world? He did it before with the broadcast during the Eddy Hair Show. What if he was trying to get people hooked on watching TV so that he could 'cure' them?'_

She jabbed the button, turning the television off and tossed the remote aside. She patted her stomach in satisfaction, before jumping in alarm at the sound of a notification on her phone. It was alerting her to a message, piquing her interest. Presumably, it was from one of SPLAT, and she hoped that the message didn't mention a single thing about the Octopus game.

Ingrid picked up her phone and opened up the message.

' **SPLAT Meeting tomorrow at half ten. Can you make it?'**

It was from Lloyd and the message had Ingrid smiling. The apology was coming sooner than expected, but at least they could put all the pettiness behind them and move on from the Octopus Dare incident. She replied back in a civil manner.

' **Yeah. I'll bring cakes.'**

Placing her phone onto her bedside cabinet, Ingrid climbed off of her bed and made her way downstairs.

"Mum? Where are you?"

"Front room. Did you have a good day?"

Leaning on the doorway of the front room, Ingrid shrugged her shoulders. "Depends what your definition of 'good' is. How was your day?"

"Same old really. Did you play that lame game again?"

Ingrid snorted humorously. "Yeah, I tried it and it was _so bad._ I complained about it and I guess everyone had enough of me by then, so I got kicked out. Worth it though." Her eyes gleamed.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, sweetheart. I'm glad you gave the game another chance though. You're not feeling too down about today's events?"

"Nah, I'm seeing the others tomorrow at our meeting place."

"Your little shed?" Mrs Smith grinned.

"Yeah, our safe haven hah. Can I have some money to get cakes for the meeting please?"

"Use your pocket money, Ing. I don't want you stuffing your face tomorrow, not after tonight's three course meal."

Ingrid rolled her eyes in a light-hearted manner. "Course, Mum. Right, I'm going to go to bed. Big day tomorrow, we'll have to see if their apology is up to scratch."

Chuckling, her mother blew her a kiss. "Night, Ing."

"Night."

* * *

Blueberry muffins stuffed into her backpack, Ingrid kicked open the door of the SPLAT shed. She smiled smugly at the shocked company, dropping her backpack onto her deckchair.

"Hi guys! I brought muffins. You'll each get one when I approve of all your apologies."

A sputtering started up in the corner, Lloyd staring wide-eyed at her. "Apology? For what?!"

"For allowing me to be kicked out of the club yesterday. I don't give a damn about the Octopus game anymore, just apologise and we can move on."

"You _should_ care about the Octopus game." Mandy hissed.

"Whatever," Ingrid rolled her eyes. "Going to apologise or not? A blueberry muffin is at stake here. Come on, who's first to man up."

"Ingrid, we're not apologising."

Slowly sitting down onto her deckchair, Ingrid huffed. "Well, no muffins for you lot then. I'll eat them all myself." She unzipped her backpack and pulled out the pack of muffins. "So, why did you call a meeting then? It better be important. I have places to be."

"Such as having the phone glued to your ear in case Harvey picks up?" Dinah sneered.

Ingrid put the unwrapped muffin down beside her and pointed a finger at the older girl. "I am really getting sick of your shitty attitude." Her finger jerked onto Lloyd. "Now, what the _hell_ am I here for?"

Coolly watching her, Lloyd said: "We thought we'd let you know that yesterday, after you left, Dinah beat Octopus Dare."

"Wow, am I supposed to be impressed?"

"You should be. Now that she's beaten the game, she has the chance of getting invited to the competition, the Junior Brain one? We believe that she'll win."

Ingrid twisted her lips, looking over at Dinah. "Congrats. You'll be able to prove to everyone that you have the best brain in Britain, all for beating a stupid crap game. Bet you're well proud."

"No need to be sarcastic." Ian drawled in the background.

"But why call a meeting just for this?! I wasted time and money on these damn muffins, all to hear about Dinah winning something! Like okay, you beat a game and might be entered into a competition, but after the way I've been treated at the Computer Club, I don't really care!"

Mandy narrowed her eyes. "You should be happy for your friend. Not try to tear her down."

"Mands, usually I would be ecstatic, but this game has torn us apart as a group. So I'm-"

"You are being an ungrateful bitch, just like always. The snarky comments, the put-downs. I don't know how my brother handles it. No wonder he wanted to get away from you. _You are truly a horrible person."_

Words that reduced her to tears, Ingrid snatched up the muffin next to her and took a big bite out it. She swallowed the mouthful, then threw the rest of the muffin onto the floor. Snatching her backpack, she slammed her way out of the shed, the tears running down her cheeks.


	6. Chapter Six: Attempted Apology

**CHAPTER SIX: ATTEMPTED APOLOGY**

"Ingrid sweetheart, Mandy's at the front door. She wants to talk to you."

The response was muffled by the pillow.

"I can't hear you. Get your face out of the pillow."

Ingrid lifted her head up out of the pillow and twisted round so that she was lying on her back, staring up at the ceiling. "I said I don't want to see her. They were horrible to me yesterday at the meeting and I'm not having the mother hen come round and try to soothe everything."

"I know they were horrible to you. I know you were crying, Ing. What was it about?"

"I don't want to talk. Can you tell her to go away?"

"Are you sure about that? She only wants to check in on you."

Pushing herself up into a sitting position, Ingrid started to get off of the bed. "Fine, I'll tell her myself then."

"No, I think it's best if I do it actually. You need to calm down first, sweetheart. Message her later when you're feeling up to it. Okay?"

"K, Mum, you know best after all." Ingrid flopped back down onto her bed. "What's Dad doing?"

"He's gone to the cinema with his mates. When he gets home, we could all do something together? I'll send Mandy away for now, but don't be surprised if your other friends come knocking."

"Who cares? Harvey isn't around, so I haven't got anyone."

"You have," Mrs Smith smiled. "Everyone falls out with their friends once in a while. Soon enough, they'll offer you a proper apology and I know you miss Harvey, but he'll back in a couple of weeks. Will you be alright?"

"Yeah."

Her Mum shut the door behind her on the way out, Ingrid mashing her face into her pillow once more. No way was she talking with someone who worshipped the _'marvellous Octopus'._

Dithering outside, Mandy peered through the open doorway into the hall. She had heard murmuring upstairs, presumably Mrs Smith was trying to convince Ingrid to come downstairs, but the murmuring had now stopped and Mandy was unsure of the reception that she would receive when Ingrid decided to come downstairs and speak to her. The door closed upstairs and to Mandy's great surprise, Mrs Smith descended the stairs and walked towards her, sympathetic smile on her face.

"Sorry Mandy, she's not up for talking at the moment. I think whatever happened yesterday at the meeting really upset her. She'll get over it, maybe come back a bit later if you want? You're always welcome to drop in, you know that."

"Thanks, Mrs Smith. Ingrid's not that mad, is she? We didn't mean to be horrible to her yesterday." She didn't want to mention that it was mainly Lloyd who had made Ingrid cry. In her eyes, it had been a group effort.

"You know how she is. She will forgive all of you. I think a part of it is missing Harvey as well."

"They're always together, it must be hard."

"Mmh. Sorry its been a wasted trip. Come back later though."

"I will, thanks Mrs Smith."

"Any time."

Mrs Smith shut the front door, Mandy's footsteps fading away.

The sun was setting outside and Ingrid was preparing to enjoy a night of binge watching horror films. However, a sharp knock at the front door had her tensing. Was Mandy back to try and see her again? Or was it something more _sinister?_

Acting out like she was in a spy film, Ingrid crept out of her bedroom and down the stairs. Her parents were busy cooking together, so Ingrid sprung towards the front door, yanking open the front door.

"Oh, it's you. What do you want?"

Lloyd Hunter stood on the doorstep, arms folded.

"I came here to tell you some news. I know you're not going to like it, but you'll have to accept it."

Ingrid leant against the open door, sighing.

"Lets hear it then. I can come to my own conclusion on this exciting piece of news you have for me."

"Dinah received an invitation this morning to the Junior Brain Competition in London. It's in three days. We're all going."

"I'm not."

Lloyd narrowed his eyes. "We are. The SPLAT vote was in agreement to joining Di in travelling to London for the competition."


	7. Chapter Seven: Making A Deal

**CHAPTER SEVEN: MAKING A DEAL**

"You did a SPLAT vote without me? That's not fair, I haven't been able to put my opinion on things forward!"

"We conducted one, yes, and Ingrid, we all know your opinion. But you have to come, we all support one another. She's our friend."

"Not at the moment. I don't want to speak to any of you. You were all rude to me yesterday and I bet when Dinah got news about the competition, she went all weird cause the competition is related to that stupid Octopus!"

At her words, Lloyd's expression shifted to one of uncertainty. "Well, she did go a bit crazy when she received the invite. She needed a new computer, one of those Salamanders, and she was nagging Mum to buy a new one."

"Dinah doesn't nag." Ingrid pointed out.

"I know, and those computers cost a lot."

"How much?"

"About a grand."

"Jesus. Never realised how much of a spoilt little brat she was, begging her Mum for an expensive computer for a crappy competition."

"She's not a brat!" Lloyd was back to glaring. "Mum's buying her the computer and we are all going. Dinah never drags us to any of the stuff she wants to do, so I feel like we all owe her a favour. You know I'm speaking the truth."

"She likes going to museums on her own! And I don't want to go! I hate the Octopus game! You three can go and support her, I'll stay home and do my own thing."

"Stay home and wait for Harvey?"

"No," She glowered at him. "I do have independence, you know. I don't need a boy hanging off of my arm all the time."

"So, come!"

"No!"

"Ingrid, I'm ordering you to come with us! SPLAT have decided!"

"NO! I SAID _NO,_ ARE YOU DEAF?! GET IT INTO YOUR THICK SKULL! _I AM NOT GOING!"_

"Yes, you are! Stop being spiteful and support your friend!"

"NO! I'M GOING TO FEEL LIKE AN OUTCAST CAUSE YOU'LL ALL BE WORSHIPPING THE OCTOPUS! COUNT ME OUT!"

Lloyd stepped over the threshold, and no matter how much Ingrid tried to keep him out by using the front door against him, he was stronger and managed to slip past the youngest member of SPLAT. Waiting for Ingrid to slam the front door shut in defeat, he snapped:

"Friends are meant to stick together! We apologise if your feelings were hurt, but you were mocking the game we like to play! Maybe we were both cruel, but you're being ungrateful! You need to support Dinah!"

"I AM! FROM HOME! I'M NOT COMING AND THAT'S FINAL!"

"What the hell is that racket?!" Mr and Mrs Smith appeared in the hallway, faces red from the heat of the oven.

"Nothing Daddy, Lloyd was just leaving." Ingrid gave Lloyd a pointed look. "Weren't you?"

"Erm…" Lloyd's face flamed in humiliation. He hated feeling uneasy, particularly around adults. "If you want me too. Sorry I interrupted your evening, Mr and Mrs Smith."

"I think it's best that you go. You've upset Ingrid."

Lloyd was not used to seeing Mr Smith in a bad mood. He was so laid back and chilled, even more so than _his_ _own father_ , that it was a real shock for Lloyd to see him act all protective. Then again, he had barged into the house and had a row with the man's daughter, so he could understand his stance on the situation.

"Daddy, Lloyd's trying to make me to go to London, because Dinah's won a competition."

Mr Smith frowned. "I don't see the issue?"

"Russ, it's to do with that damn Octopus game."

"Oh shit yeah." He smiled at his daughter. "You don't have to go if you don't want to. You can wish Dinah good luck before she goes off."

"Exactly!" As she beamed in happiness, Lloyd was mentally marking down where Ingrid's potty mouth stemmed from when he found himself the centre of attention once again.

"So you're definitely not going?"

"Nope." Ingrid flapped her hand at him. "Now go, I'm starving and we gotta finish off dinner."

"Fine," He sighed and turned towards the door. "Shame as Harvey would have gone if he was here. He might hate the Octopus game as well, but I know that he's selfless enough to come along and give his support, even if he did hate the game. I think he would be disappointed that you weren't actually coming with us. But it's your choice."

"My daughter is selfless. Arrogant kid you are, assuming things you don't know."

"Amelia, we're all worked up over this. Lets calm down and finish off dinner."

"Alright, but that remark pissed me off."

Her parents were making their way back to the kitchen when Ingrid piped up:

"I'll go."

Mr and Mrs Smith turned back to their daughter with shock sprawled across their faces, Lloyd turning back with joy in his eyes.

"Really?"

"Yeah." She shrugged. "I'm going cause you're right. Only about Harv-Harv lending his support if he was in my position. So I'll do it for him."

"Thanks, Ingrid!"

Lloyd punched her shoulder, grinning. Ingrid rolled her eyes, before smiling sweetly.

"But I'm allowed to go to the arcade when we're in London though, that's _my_ side of the bargain!"


	8. Chapter Eight: London

**CHAPTER EIGHT: LONDON**

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

" _No."_

"Are we there yet?"

"Ingrid! One more word out of you and we won't go to the arcade!"

Ingrid sealed her lips at this threat, but wasn't above giving Lloyd a two fingered salute, which he promptly ignored.

The five of them were all huddled together on the train, the sights of London whizzing by in a flash. They were nearing their station and their hands tightened on their respective luggage. They would have to squeeze past people in order to get off the train at their stop without any mishaps. Lloyd planned to lead his friends to the doors and help them off if needed.

The train slowed to a stop and Ingrid jumped up, bright yellow backpack bumping against her back.

"Right, lets go!"

"She's cheery for someone who doesn't even want to be here."

This set Ingrid off on a rant about the Octopus and her wish for Harvey to be with them as she would have a companion, who was 'smart enough to not be tempted by that Octopus fiend.' She barged people out of the way, and as Mandy apologised profusely on her friend's behalf, the occupants of the train all narrowing their eyes at the youngest SPLAT member, Ingrid jumped off of the train. Feet hitting the platform, she turned.

"Hurry up!"

"We're coming, Ingrid." Dinah said, clutching her backpack tightly. Her new laptop was so fragile that she was very wary of putting her bag down, in case the computer became damaged or broken beyond repair. Her head pounded from Ingrid's loud voice, but there was something else niggling at the back of her mind. She wanted to see the Octopus _so badly_ and hoped that Ingrid wouldn't get in her way. If she did, there would be consequences for the younger girl.

The children stepped off of the train and followed after Ingrid to the barriers. Lloyd quickly shot down Ingrid's suggestion of hopping the barriers and indicated to Mandy, who grabbed hold of Ingrid's hand to stop her from running off. Instead of arguing, Ingrid grinned and swung their hands up and down. Ian laughed, larking about by taking gigantic steps forward, resembling a human sized daddy long legs. Dinah and Lloyd brought up the rear, their eyes glued to the tower where the competition was based.

"Vulcan Tower…" Dinah whispered, stopping in her tracks. The tower was imposing and she hoped that her friends would be allowed to wait elsewhere in the tower for her.

"Di?"

She turned at the sound of her name, Lloyd staring at her. "You okay? We need to keep walking."

"Yes, fine, sorry."

"Are you nervous about the competition?"

Dinah nodded. "Something about the Octopus set me off. When I looked at the card I got in the post… you saw how I acted with Mum."

"I can understand why you think it's sinister, but don't worry about it. We'll be with you all of the way and Mum would want you to go ahead with the competition. She did cave in and buy you the Salamander after all."

"I feel so guilty for snapping at her though. I don't know what came over me. I'm scared, Lloyd. I just want everything to go smoothly."

Lloyd reached out and patted her arm. "Usually you're the one who stays calm under pressure. We took down the Headmaster before, and if anything untoward happens, then we can all band together and sort out the problem! Please don't worry, Di, we're here for you."

"Thanks." She smiled. "I'm glad you're here for me."

"Always."

"Would you two hurry up?! I want to sit down, my feet hurt!"

"You were sitting down on the train!"

Lloyd and Dinah hurried over to break up the sniping between Ian and Ingrid, as Mandy approached the steps leading up to the tower. She made her way up them, seeing a platform and a handprint. Pressing her right hand onto the print, a cover slid up unveiling a keypad, which she hovered her left hand over.

A robotic voice asked for her name to be typed in, Mandy looking behind her to see her friends dithering at the bottom of the steps.

"Come on, you lot! It's asking for our names to be put into this keypad!"

The others ascended the steps to meet her. "We'll have to go in one by one, I think. Di, you should go first, you've been invited here after all."

"I think _I'll_ go first." Ingrid called the shots, slithering to the front and forcing Mandy to move out of her way so that she could input her name into the keypad. Mandy rolled her eyes, but simply watched as Ingrid stuck her tongue out in concentration and jabbed her finger onto the keypad.

'I-N-G-R-I-D-S-M-I-T-H.'

She pushed the red button, only to be provided with words she was not expecting.

" **This person is not permitted into the tower."**

" _What?!"_ Ingrid found herself shaking on the spot. All of her pent up emotions regarding the Octopus game and the fall out with her friends were making her seethe with anger. She formed a fist and slammed it against the keypad, screaming:

"THIS STUPID THING! IT'S BROKEN! IT SUCKS!"

Immediately, Ian leapt forward, grabbing onto Ingrid and yanking her away from the battered keypad. She screamed in frustration as Ian walked away from the tower, back down the stairs and keeping silent. It was the best action he could take as eventually, Ingrid stopped screaming and instead pouted, annoyed that she was currently carried around, as if she were incapable of walking by herself.

Lloyd, Dinah and Mandy watched on in astonishment. Anger flared in Dinah. Her chance of gaining entry to the tower to plough ahead in the competition was now jeopardised thanks to Ingrid's actions. Mandy worried for her friend's well-being, clearly her issue with Octopus Dare was taking a toll on her. Lloyd was so baffled by how Ingrid had acted that all he could do was turn to his sister and speak.

"You try and go through now, Di. We'll be right behind you, I promise."

Dinah shook out her limbs, then nodded in determination and stepped onto the platform. Minding the hiss the keypad let out, she typed her new name in.

'D-I-N-A-H-H-U-N-T-E-R'

Thankfully, she was accepted, but before Lloyd and Mandy could even step onto the platform with her, Dinah vanished from sight as a wall curled round her.

"Dinah!" Lloyd called out, gasping as the wall pulled back. His sister had vanished, she was inside the tower all by herself. Mandy, through her state of shock, stepped forward and keyed in Dinah's name, believing that would fool the system into letting her in. However, it didn't and the threat of the police sent Mandy into a panic.

"Lloyd! We have to leave, otherwise the police will be called! We're already in trouble thanks to Ingrid, with her smashing in the keypad!"

Realising that Mandy was right, they had to leave the area, Lloyd took hold of her hand and together, they hurried away from the drama scene.


	9. Chapter Nine: Vulcan Tower

**CHAPTER NINE: VULCAN TOWER**

Lloyd and Mandy caught up to Ian and Ingrid by the car park, the pair of them explaining what had happened. Ingrid, now with her feet on the ground, crossed her arms over her chest and pouted.

"I told you this whole competition was sketchy! Now Dinah's been swallowed up by the tower and the police might come to arrest us!"

"Like you're scared of the police." Mandy huffed. "Besides, there must be another way in."

"There must be a set of stairs or a lift that we could use." Ian pointed out. "I think we should look round the car park, there must be a way to get in through there."

"Ian's right." Lloyd nodded. "Lets go through the car park."

Nudging Ingrid, Ian exclaimed: "Might be able to go for a joyride!"

She mustered up a small smile at this, then let her lips pull down into a frown when Lloyd spoke to her.

"Have you gotten over your little tantrum? You didn't have to go and bloody break the keypad!"

"It didn't break, Lloyd."

"Well, I got so annoyed that it wouldn't let me in! I-"

"You let yourself get all frustrated that's all. Come on, we need to look round and find Dinah before something happens."

Lloyd led the way, Mandy and Ian behind him, Ingrid bringing up the rear. They surveyed the car park, half filled with cars, Lloyd wishing that they had brought a torch. Ingrid moped along, hands stuffed into her pockets, but her eyes took on a gleam when she spotted the stationary helicopter, off to the side perched on a small round platform. Ingrid prepared to race off over to the helicopter, wishing that Harvey were with her. His interest and fascination with all types of aircraft would have sent him delirious and most likely, he would have tried to get the helicopter in the air straight away.

"Ingrid, don't you dare approach that helicopter! We don't have time to mess around and I don't want you breaking anything!"

"How would I break a helicopter? I'm not going to fly it! I just want to have a look."

"No. Now come on, I think I've found a way in."

Despondent, Ingrid dragged her feet away from the helicopter and over to where her friends were standing in front of a large rubbish bin, food flying down from the overhead chute. Following Lloyd's gaze, Ingrid shook her head.

"No way! I'm not climbing up that thing! We'll slip and fall!"

"We'll just have to be careful that's all." Mandy said. "Put your back against one side, put your feet out in front of you and shimmy upwards, using your hands as well."

"Shimmy, shimmy." Ian cried, shaking his chest back and forth as if he were in a dance video. Ingrid sighed in annoyance.

"I'm not going up that thing. I don't trust myself… I mean, I really don't think it's a good idea. What if we all fall down and break our necks?!"

"Fine!" Lloyd threw up his hands. "The three of us will go up it, but stay down here and guard our bags. If for some reason, you don't hear us going up or we haven't come back within an hour, go and get help. Understand?"

Ingrid nodded, biting back her sarcastic comment. Now was not the time. Lloyd was clearly at the end of his tether. She watched them climb up the chute, certain that she would soon hear their death rattle as they fell to their bloody demise, but after a few minutes, the clunking of their feet moving up the chute faded away and her nerves calmed.

Her gaze fell back onto the helicopter she was so desperate to examine. Why did Lloyd _always_ nag her? Telling her to stop touching things was only going to fuel her interest and make her go against his so-called 'rules.' Frankly, she found his manner pathetic at times and now he wasn't here to nag her anymore, she found herself slipping away from the chute and the bags, and off towards the helicopter.

She slipped into the seat, fingers hugging the stick and peered at the screen in front of her. Using her index finger, she tapped the small icon on the screen, wondering why there was an Octopus wriggling over the streets of London. Her usual dismissal of the Octopus instead led to her wondering if the creature played a more sinister role and a small part of her wished that she had climbed up that chute alongside her friends. Ingrid played around with the stick a bit longer, before a sudden bout of dread dropped into her stomach. If the Octopus was so prominent within a helicopter, what would it be like in the rest of the building? Would there be giant screens with the stupid thing wriggling around, drawing people in? If there were, then the rest of SPLAT would be screwed.

Ingrid's back fully straightened as she thought: _'I've got to save them.'_

She scrambled out of the helicopter and over to the bins, shoving the bags fully behind them so that they weren't visible. She craned her head round to look up into the chute, face crushing up into disgust, before moving away from the bins. Ingrid searched around the car park, looking for another entrance. For those not participating in the Junior Brain competition, there must be an alternative way in. Her eyes settled onto a large lift. Ingrid grinned to herself, moving over and examining the buttons beside the lift. There were five in total and she pressed the button for the first level. Hopefully, she would be able to catch up to the others quickly.

As the lift doors hissed open, Ingrid stepped into the lift, arching an eyebrow curiously at the massive screen before her. The doors closed and the screen flickered. She groaned in annoyance as the Octopus appeared, tentacles wriggling, the background a strange mass of green swirls. The background looked like one that would be used for hypnotism…

Becoming nervous of what she was about to uncover, Ingrid waited until the Octopus flickered off, the lift doors opening, before stepping out onto the first floor.


	10. Chapter Ten: Forcefield

**CHAPTER TEN: FORCEFIELD**

The first floor was not of much interest. There were no top secret files, no secret meetings to eavesdrop, but worse of all, there was no SPLAT! Ingrid turned back to the lift and pressed the button for the second floor. Once the doors had opened, she stepped in, rolling her eyes at the Octopus as it appeared yet again. As the lift travelled upwards, she hoped that she would be able to locate her friends quickly. Although always striving for her independence, Ingrid really didn't want to be left alone inside the tower. When she entered the second floor, her spirits were lifted. She was in a canteen and none of SPLAT were in sight, but there was _food_. Her stomach growled as a reminder of not having eaten much that morning and upon seeing bowls of gooey chocolate cake, she rushed forwards and dug her right hand in.

Ingrid shoved the cake into her mouth, eyes rolling to the back of her head at the delicious taste. She could spend all day standing there eating cake, but after finishing off the bowl, she realised that she had to keep moving. SPLAT were taken in by that Octopus and as she was the only one currently there who was clever enough to not be drawn in, it was up to her to save the day.

Ingrid shoved the bowl aside and picked up a napkin, wiping her hands clean, then moved back over to the lift, hitting the button for the third floor. The same series of events happened and Ingrid stepped out onto the third floor, feeling like the next time she saw the Octopus, she would end up with a sore fist. The third floor was a warehouse and Ingrid looked at all the boxes on the different shelves with interest. Finally, she was getting warmer in terms of events within the tower and decided that the stacked boxes would be able to provide her with some much-needed information. However, upon closer inspection, she was met with disappointment. The boxes were clearly labelled with food stickers and though tinned beans may have been able to provide some satisfaction, it wasn't what she was looking for. What freaked her out the most though were the machines rolling around, scanning boxes then putting them on the correct shelves. They looked deadly and Ingrid backed away, towards the lift, not wanting to be caught up in the arms of a robot.

Backing into the wall beside the lift, she felt along for the button that would take the lift to the fourth floor and repeatedly jabbed it. Her eyes remained locked on the machine she had spotted until the lift came, where Ingrid waited for the doors to ping open before jumping back and shutting the doors.

The screen flickered to life, but luckily, the ride to the fourth floor was short so she was spared the hated image. Ingrid stepped out of the lift and immediately spotted a commotion in the middle of the room. She ducked down, cursing under her breath. If there were guards patrolling and she was spotted… Ingrid heard the words ' _Obey the Octopus'_ blasted from the overhead speakers and cursed again.

' _I told SPLAT that there was something shifty going on! And now I'm on my own, I have to find them!'_

Ingrid decided to risk peeking over the railings and as she slowly rose up to her full standing height, her breath was taken away. The room was darkly lit, swirls thrown up onto the ceiling from the force field that crackled in the centre of the room. A winding staircase was placed to the far left of the balcony she was currently standing on and if she made her way to the bottom of the staircase, she would be standing in a sparsely decorated room, with only the forcefield, speakers, a huge colourful screen and a large computer for decoration.

Ingrid gripped the railings of the balcony tightly as she focused on the forcefield. She could see six people standing within the forcefield, one person stumbling around with their hands clapped over their eyes. Yet the rest seemed to be in a trance, but what unnerved Ingrid the most, was that she had now recognised some of those people to be members of SPLAT.


	11. Chapter Eleven: Help You, I Will Not

**CHAPTER ELEVEN: HELP YOU, I WILL NOT**

Seeing your best friends in a trance would knock anybody sideways, but for Ingrid, it was the last straw. Emotions flooded through her like a hurricane. Firstly, she was relieved at having found her friends after trawling through floors of rubbish, then she was dejected at seeing them in a hypnotised state, made worse by the fact that Lloyd, Mandy and Ian could not be hypnotised by eye to eye contact.

Then confusion struck her as she had no idea how to turn off the forcefield. Walking into it looked like it would hurt a lot and Ingrid flinched at the electrical zaps the forcefield sprayed out. She took a slight step back, eyes flickering onto the computer built into the far wall. Deducing that the computer was probably linked to the forcefield, Ingrid narrowed her eyes as she finally settled onto an emotion that suited the situation.

It was anger.

She couldn't believe how _stupid_ her friends were to bow down before a lame animated creature who did nothing but wriggle its limbs uselessly. They could resist the powers of an old man, but not a _fake Octopus?!_ It was ridiculous and Ingrid shook her head in exasperation.

She snorted as a cry for help sounded out from within the forcefield. The only one not gazing up at the Octopus like a dimwit was a tall teenage boy, dressed in a white labcoat, hand clapped over his eyes. He could sense that someone else was now in the room, someone not looking at the Octopus and enthralled by its trance, someone who could help him and the others.

"Hello?! Is someone there? Please! Please help! I can't open my eyes to switch the Octopus off! All the others, they're watching it and they've been watching the screen for ages, I know they've not been moving around for a while and I'm afraid that I'll have to open my eyes and then my mind won't be mine! Please! If you can help, please find a way to shut off the machine!"

Ingrid slowly made her way down the staircase, eyes narrowing more and more as she got closer to the distressed cry. By the time she got to the bottom of the staircase, her eyes were squinted and she had to blink several times to regain clear vision.

"Can you turn off the machine! Hurry!"

" _Please_ would be nice." Ingrid hissed under her breath, before raising her voice, tone light. "I'll turn off the machine, don't you worry. Just give me a sec."

The boy sighed, body slumping in apparent relief, the hand still clamped tightly over his eyes. Ingrid simply rolled her eyes, sauntering over to the massive computer built into the wall. It was immoral and wrong, but she was sick and tired of the whole ordeal and wanted out. If it meant throwing this innocent boy to the wolves, or in this case Octopus, so be it.

Pretending to tap a few buttons on the keyboard, Ingrid gritted her teeth at the repeated mantra bellowing over her head, before shouting:

"It's okay! The Octopus has gone! You can open your eyes now!"

She shouldn't have looked, should have left him to his fate, but a cruelty was sweet so she stared at the boy as he took his hand away from his face, straightened his back and slowly opened his eyes. His gaze flicked to the screen, the glowing green wriggling Octopus dilating his eyes and turning his body stiff as a board.

A cold look was all Ingrid spared for the trapped group, before turning her back on them and climbing up the staircase.


	12. Chapter Twelve: Whitecoats

**CHAPTER TWELVE: WHITECOATS**

She didn't have time to gloat as by the time she made it back to the chute, the distinctive sound of a lift approaching made itself known to her ears. Cursing softly, Ingrid ducked down next to the wide chute opening, gaze zoning in on the lift doors, which were across the room from the giant computer. A loud hiss emitted from the doors, before they fully slid open, six adults stepping out onto the floor. They were dressed in long white lab coats and wore expressions on their faces that screamed hypnotised.

' _Great.'_ Ingrid sagged against the wall. _'This is just like school all over again, but instead of the Prefects, I've got fully grown adults to fight against. I really hate this Octopus thing.'_

The adults filtered out, all of them taking in the motionless children within the forcefield, watching the screen. They recognised the rebellious Brains who had been sent away by the Computer Director, but there were a few new additions, not dressed in the attire that the Junior Brains were garbed in. The unfamiliar children were no threat at that current moment, but they had clearly snuck into the tower and they would need to be dealt with at the hands of the Computer Director.

One of the whitecoats moved over to the computer and after a few seconds, Ingrid watched the forcefield dissipate before her eyes. Unfortunately, the screen above still showed the Octopus so her friends and the other children were still stuck in a brainwashed state. Each child was grabbed by a single whitecoat and they were pulled over to the lift, Ingrid waiting until all of the whitecoats's backs were turned, before racing over to the balcony rail. She leant as far forward as physically possible without falling and peered at the buttons beside the lift.

The whitecoat at the head of the line pressed the arrow signalling 'up' and Ingrid nodded to herself. The lift was going up, presumably to the fifth floor, and she had to be stealthy if she wanted to save her friends. Yes, she had let the older boy down by letting him be hypnotised, but she would not stand by and let the Octopus win!

Once everyone had crammed into the lift and the doors slid closed, the lift gliding away, Ingrid stood up from her crouched position and exhaled a deep breath. Hopefully when she got to the next floor, there would be a quick and easy hiding space she could access, before anyone working for the Octopus caught her.

' _And if I'm caught, well… least I'm immune to that stupid thing.'_

Ingrid rushed down the staircase and over to the lift, jabbing the up button and tapping her foot in impatience. She didn't have to wait long for the lift to arrive, stepping in and blowing a raspberry at the Octopus that flickered onto the screen.

The lift doors hissed shut behind her as the lift ascended up to the next level.


	13. Chapter Thirteen: The Headmaster

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN: THE HEADMASTER**

The lift opened and Ingrid was confronted by the sight of someone she thought that she would never lay eyes on again. _The Headmaster_ was standing a few feet away from her, his usual emotionless façade shattered into mouth open, eyes wide behind his glasses and utter confusion as to how the little girl now in front of him had escaped his clutches.

True, he had been reviled by the sight of the three Immune children who had been dragged in minutes earlier, rubbing their eyes and proclaiming over his sudden appearance. Alas for the children, their little reunion with Dinah Glass, no _Hunter,_ had been cut drastically short as the Headmaster had delightfully told them of his intentions. He had wondered about the locations of the two littlest brats, but had guessed that they were off somewhere attached to each other's faces and had fallen behind from the rest of their group.

Although now that he was face to face with the youngest and loudest brat of all, the Headmaster had two essential questions burning through his mind.

' _Why had the girl not been rubbing her eyes or blinking excessively to clear her vision of the Octopus?'_

' _Where is that little Hunter brat?'_

Ingrid swore that time stopped as the two enemies stared into each other's eyes. It was only when the Headmaster darted forward that she sucked in a lungful of air, her fear making her body rigid. A large cold hand seized her right wrist and propelled her forwards, her feet scrambling to catch up with the rest of her body. Ingrid twisted her head from side to side so that she could catch all of the bewildered faces on both sides of the room. She caught sight of SPLAT, Dinah included, and felt a sense of relief wash over her. Upon seeing the older boy that she had tricked earlier, the short-lived relief washed away and Ingrid's face burned. From humiliation or regret, she couldn't tell.

"Hey, let go of me! Your grip is way too tight!"

"YOU!"

The shout took her off guard and as the Headmaster's grip tightened, Ingrid noticed that the teenage boy's expression was now one of pure loathing. He looked livid and Ingrid could totally understand why.

"You're the one who tricked me about the Octopus!" Robert narrowed his eyes and lowered his tone to a hiss. "You said it was safe, that the Octopus had gone, but you lied! _You tricked me, you idiot!"_

Deep down, Ingrid held some sort of sympathy for him, but she was never one to shy away from a verbal battle so like a panther, she pounced.

"Least I'm not lame enough to fall for a stupid Octopus! You're brainwashed by something that's so stupid! You're the idiot!"

" _Enough."_

The Headmaster had decided to intervene into the argument, considering the words thrown back and forth wasteful. He needed to get down to business as Downing Street was awaiting his arrival, but first, he had to speak to that atrocious excuse of a child.

"Miss Smith." He spat her name out as if it were a curse. "Where is that boy who always follows you around, similar to a lost puppy?"

Ingrid was glad that the Headmaster had stopped dragging her around and his grip on her wrist was steadily loosening. Everyone stared at her as she replied:

"Who, Harvey? He's off at Aero Camp."

"'Aero Camp?'" The Headmaster sneered. "How fitting for him. So, he is not around. Excellent."

Ingrid glowered at the man, hating how he criticised Harvey.

"And from the words you shared with that boy a few moments ago, I gather that the Octopus does not affect you? You are Immune?"

"Yeah!" _This,_ Ingrid was happy to gloat about. "Just like I am to your hypnotism! So you can't get me, I can beat you! So can Harvey, he thinks the Octopus is stupid as well!"

The Headmaster curled his lip at the stated fact that the girl was Immune against the Octopus as three of the children who had avoided his power during his time at St Champions were now caught in his Octopus trap. It was unfortunate that both Smith and Hunter were not ensnared in his power as he could have had all of those brats under his control, but it was of no matter now. Hunter was not within the vicinity, only the little girl and he could easily take care of her.

"I believe that you will soon be proven wrong." Baring his teeth in a form of a triumphant smile, the Headmaster gestured to a nearby whitecoat.

"Bring me a cage."


	14. Chapter Fourteen: The Cage

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN: THE CAGE**

Her blood went cold. A cage? A freaking cage?! She was not an animal to be stuffed into a claustrophobic space. She was a child! Children shouldn't be put into cages!

' _Jesus… he's finally lost it.'_

She shuddered as the whitecoat returned with a large oval-shaped bird cage, one that she could barely squeeze into if she tucked all of her limbs up. Ingrid cast a pleading look towards the Headmaster, but as she expected, the man did not return her gaze nor was there any trace of sympathy in his cold face.

Ingrid screamed loudly upon being grabbed once again by the Headmaster, struggling desperately as she was pushed towards the cage. The whitecoat holding the cage, moved his hand to pull open the door and Ingrid suddenly felt sick. She was really going to be put into a birdcage… This was not how she had expected for her day to pan out.

Lloyd made a move to run forwards and save her, but SPLAT were swiftly held back by the army of white garbed men and women, and Ingrid knew for a fact that none of the eggheads would save her, particularly the one she had failed to save from a sluggish mind.

As they approached the cage, the Headmaster moved round so that Ingrid had her back against his chest and lifted her up under the back of her knees, shoving her into the cage. Her back jammed against the metal rails and her fingers clutched at the sides of the birdcage, eyes dimming in dismay as the door closed and the key turned in the lock. She was tucked up in such a small place that her knees were curled up to her chest and any attempt to move her feet to attempt to kick open the bird cage was futile as there was no room to even lift her feet.

The Headmaster surveyed her with a menacing sparkle in his concealed eyes, thin lips stretching into a satisfied smile.

"Well, well, the little brat has been captured and placed where she belongs. Do not even bother attempting to escape. You are truly stuck and no one will be able to help you down."

"My friends will! You can't keep me in this cage forever!"

"Do not push me, Miss Smith. I could easily keep you in your little prison _forever._ And your _friends_ wouldn't be able to reach you anyway."

She stilled, heart skipping a beat. "What do you mean, _'won't be able to reach me'?_ What the hell are you going on about?"

"Dear me, such language, Miss Smith."

"Hell isn't a swear word," She hissed. "Where are you putting me?"

The Headmaster tilted his head up towards the ceiling and Ingrid understood his gesture. The cage was going to be up there. She was going to be swinging up above fifty odd people and if the cage fell, then she was dead. She surely wouldn't survive the fall and by Christ, she was not going up there.

"NO!" Ingrid shouted, as the rest of SPLAT begged the Headmaster to not up her up there, with even some of the other eggheads shouting out their support. "I could _die_ if you put me up there! It's child abuse!"

"Pity I do not care." The Headmaster lowered his head and stared directly into her eyes. "Your cage will hang from the ceiling and you will not come down until I have returned."

Ingrid was too frightened to ask where he was going, as she still had no idea what his plans were, but she hoped that he would not be long. The cage was set onto the floor as there was movement around her, with two whitecoats producing a stepladder which they brought over to the front of the room, in the space between the Headmaster's desk and the first row of smaller computers. She wondered where they had gotten the stepladder from as she watched them adjust the height so that whoever was climbing up the steps would be able to reach the ceiling.

A burly whitecoat picked up her cage and watched as one of his colleagues went up the stepladder and drilled a hook into the ceiling, Ingrid praying that the hook was secure enough to hold the cage and that their building work wasn't shoddy. She squeaked as the builder whitecoat clambered down the stepladder and the one holding the cage made his way up, halting at the top. Ingrid felt the start of a hyperventilating fit coming on as the whitecoat stretched his arms out and looped the ring that was on top of the cage through the hook, the hook managing to take the cage's weight by some miraculous chance. The whitecoat climbed down the ladder and pulled it away, leaving Ingrid up high, all by herself. She tightened her hold on the bars, yelling:

"LET ME DOWN! I CAN'T BE UP HERE! PLEASE, LET ME DOWN!"

"I have already stated that I cannot let you down. True, you do not know the full extent of my plans, but I cannot risk you jeopardising them. Therefore, you will be staying up there."

The Headmaster prepared himself to depart, saying out loud words that chilled Ingrid to the bone.

"One more thing…"

Seconds later, the room was flooded with images of the Octopus and Ingrid screamed and shook the cage bars with all of her might as below her, everyone except for the Headmaster, was taken in by the Octopus's wriggling tentacles and swirling background.


	15. Chapter Fifteen: Escape

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN: ESCAPE**

Ingrid sat cooped up in the cage, her one benefit being that at least she wasn't dangling up high outside. If the wind had been too strong… But no, she was inside, up high… _Above the Headmaster's head._

The man was standing directly underneath her, preparing for his departure, fussing over his pockets to make sure that he had everything before leaving for Downing Street. Ingrid watched as the Headmaster moved over to his computer, fingers flying over the keyboard. She managed to glimpse a list of names on the computer screen, but it was gone in a flash. She didn't bother to change the direction of her vision as her friends and the brainiacs were still entranced by that scummy Octopus; she didn't need to see them to know that. It still struck her as strange to see Lloyd, Mandy and Ian, her older and _Immune_ friends, now defenceless. They were meant to be clever and not be swayed by hypnotising beings, whether it be old man or Octopus. It showed that _she_ was clever enough – despite what everyone said – and that she was the only one who could stop the Headmaster in his tracks.

Ingrid's eyes narrowed as she gripped onto the bars, determined to break free of this cage. If she could apply enough pressure to break through the bottom of the cage, then yes, she would fall through the air to certain death, which she wanted to avoid. But… there was a good chance that she would be able to land on the Headmaster's back and give him a good old walloping to the head.

She grinned. Now _that_ sounded like a plan.

' _I've got to be quick, before he leaves. Right, time to bash this cage in.'_

Ingrid lifted herself off of the cage by clenching all her muscles in her lower half, then thudded down onto the bottom of the cage. Luckily, the birdcage was only cheap and seemed to be quite breakable so she decided to test out her little exercise a few more times. She could feel the pad beneath her begin to fall away and although instinctive panic screamed at her to hold onto the bars, Ingrid held her hands against her chest and stomped on the cage floor until it fully gave way.

She got lucky, she later was forced to admit to herself. For if the Headmaster had not moved seconds earlier to where she would eventually land, then she would have been self-labelled 'mince meat.' As she fell through the air, Ingrid forced down the urge to scream, instead focussing on getting a good grip on the Headmaster when she landed. She slammed her hands down onto his shoulders, her sudden momentum managing to drag the tall man down, as his weight was not heavy enough to take her additional weight stably. The Headmaster crashed forwards, hitting his head on his desk and knocking himself out. Ingrid tumbled to the floor, wind knocked out of her and she stared at the unconscious form of the Headmaster, the last few moments racing through her mind.

Now that he was dealt with, she could relax, the time restrictions lifted. The list of names that the Headmaster had been looking at could be important, but right now, she wanted to deal with the poxy Octopus. Ingrid scurried around the room, ignoring the blank gazes of those who surrounded her, switching off all of the monitors that she could see. It only left the main one to take out and she easily did that by ducking into the darkened side room, where plugs upon plugs were connected to the monitor. Ingrid quickly pulled all of them out, darting back into the main room in time to see the main monitor switch off and the other occupants of the room awaken from their trance.

The whitecoats awoke too, but at the sight of their motionless leader, they remained at a standstill, not having any orders to direct them. Ingrid chuckled in glee at their misfortune before addressing Dinah, who had become more alert than everyone else.

"The Headmaster had a list, looked like names. What was it to do with?"

Dinah's eyes flickered towards the unconscious man, shuddering as she fully realised that she had been under his control _again._ Why did she always have to be so susceptible to the man's creations? Was it due to her genetics?"

"Hello, Earth to Junior Brain Winner. What was the list for?"

Breaking out of her contemplations, Dinah said: "I'm not the winner and it looks like there won't be a competition now. The list… is of names of people who have been invited to 10 Downing Street today, for a party and…"

She sighed, closing her eyes briefly. "The Headmaster's name is on that list…"

Ingrid gestured to the main computer madly. "Then wipe the name off! Cause it sounds like he's going there to do something against the Prime Minister!"

"Exactly right. He's going to use the Prime Minister's brain."

Ingrid stopped dead in her flailing, quipping: "That won't work. Politicians don't know anything."

"It'll be the end of the country if he manages to use the Prime Minister!"

Lloyd had piped up and Ingrid swivelled round to face the three eldest members of SPLAT. A cocky expression splayed over her face as she boomed:

"Well, well, well, it's you lot. As you can see, I knocked the Headmaster out and the Octopus doesn't affect me, thus I am the Mastermind and you're not!"

She quickly leaned over to Dinah, whispering: "Did I use 'thus' right?"

Dinah nodded in response, then moved over to the main computer, saying loudly:

"Right everyone, I need to wipe the Computer Director's name off of the list. We need to find a way out of there. I wouldn't use the lift, that's too easy. The Computer Director must have done something to tamper it."

"What about the rubbish chute?" Mandy suggested. "It worked for us."

"Yeah, worked for you to get caught." Ingrid sniggered under her breath, putting on her best innocent look when Lloyd shot her a glare.

"Good idea, Mandy." Dinah smiled, starting to type on the big keyboard. "Anyone got any rope?"

"We have!" Ian said, pointing to the bags pooled at his feet. "We picked some up on the lower level, didn't know when we would need it most. The Headmaster must have thought it wasn't important to just leave it on us. Everyone take some."

Ingrid grabbed one of the bags and tugged some rope out, before heading to where the chute was.

"Help me set this up. Dinah, hurry up and get his name off of the list."


	16. Chapter Sixteen: Run Away

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN: RUN AWAY**

They scaled down the rubbish chute using the ropes, Ingrid exclaiming over how disgusting the whole experience was. Rotten fish bones were sticking out of her hair and her clothes were awash with garlic juice. She felt rank and wanted to dunk her entire body, clothes and all, into the nearest shower. She'd been one of the first ones to go down the rubbish chute, wanting to lead the way as _she_ had been the one to break everyone out of their trance, so it was only right for the Mastermind to lead the way.

After all, she wasn't a sheep, a follower; she was a leader.

Upon nearing the first floor, there were cries from above of people wanting to grab their possessions. Lloyd, ever the hero, had warned them to not go and get their belongings and that they should treat it like a fire, to just get out and not grab anything. However, Mandy had felt sympathy for the Junior Brains and persuaded Lloyd for them to let them go and grab their bags. After all, none of them had been able to unpack before being thrown into a white lab coat and stuck behind a computer screen.

Ingrid was forced to tag along with all of the Brains and Dinah as they ran through a long corridor to reach their dormitories. Reasoning being that if there were any more Octopuses set up to catch them out, then they would need someone who could resist the wriggling of limbs and help the others if they became entranced. She leant against the wall as the boys and girls rushed into their respective dorms and grabbed their bags, before heading in front to make sure that they knew that _she_ was the Mastermind.

Once they were all back down in the car park, the children gathered together in groups, before fleeing the premises. Beth, Robert and Rebecca stuck together whilst Ingrid hollered at her friends to move faster as they streaked away from Vulcan Tower. The Junior Brains all headed to the nearest train stations, jumping on different trains to get back to their respective residences. SPLAT didn't head for the train station, instead they went in the direction of Lloyd's Aunt's house. Unfortunately for Ingrid, it meant that she had to let Lloyd take charge and lead the way.

Her hostility didn't last for too long, for as soon as Lloyd's Aunt had opened the front door, SPLAT pushed past her and piled into the living room.

"Lloyd?! What's going on?"

Panting to regain his breath, Lloyd looked up from his position on the sofa to his Aunt.

"Sorry, Auntie, but we've had a bit of a rough day. I know we're late, sorry about that, but we just need to stay here for a bit."

"Basically, we need to hide." Ingrid put a finger to her lips, eyes wide.

"Hide?! From who?"

"She meant _crash."_ Ian glowered at the younger girl. "The competition didn't really work out so we decided to visit you for awhile before going home."

"Didn't work out?" Lloyd's Aunt looked to her adoptive niece. "That's a shame, Dinah. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll win the next competition!"

Dinah smiled, thankful that they had escaped. She had managed to wipe the Headmaster's name off of the computer, so even if he somehow made his way to Downing Street upon recovering from his unconscious state, then he would be barred from entering.

"The man in charge of the competition… wasn't very nice." Mandy murmured. "May we stay for a bit and have some tea please?"

Lloyd's Aunt immediately agreed, with Ingrid finding the whole polite act a bit sickening. She may have saved them, but she was still annoyed with how they had treated her when they had been fixated on that Octopus game back at the Computer Club.

"Of course you can! I'm not going to throw any of you out! Make yourselves at home for as long as you want!"

* * *

The Headmaster awoke to an empty room, save for a few whitecoats. He blinked, rubbing the front of his head. There was a bruise forming on his forehead and he was certain that the bruise was starting to swell. His anger vented when he noticed that the children had escaped, deducing that they had gone a different way, as the lift was pristine, meaning that it hadn't been used.

The children wouldn't have known it was booby-trapped, as he would have informed them whilst making his escape, but his departure had been interrupted by something crashing onto his back, propelling him forwards where he met darkness. His vision took him to the empty broken cage swinging up above and his eyes narrowed.

 _Ingrid Smith._

Clearly, the girl had been the one to land on him and, being Immune against the Octopus, had helped to break everyone out of their trance. Quickly, the Headmaster moved behind the desk and after disabling the trap on the lift, he scrolled through a list of important names, fists clenching when he realised an error.

 _His name was no longer there._

" _Curse Dinah Hunter."_ He snarled, as he ignored his whitecoats and strode towards the lift.


	17. Chapter Seventeen: New Plan

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: NEW PLAN**

The Headmaster nearly caught one group of Junior Brains, five children who were forced to dawdle at the station after missing their necessary train. He had approached the barriers, leer of a smile making the children sidle away in fear and strangers around them sharing nervous glances, one suspicious stranger sliding their mobile phone out of their pocket.

Unfortunately for the Headmaster, five seconds later, the train drew in and he could do nothing but watch the last group of his potential bait pile onto the train and duck down as the train whizzed out of the station. He banged the barriers in anger, turning away and storming back to the tower before he was questioned by one of the attendants.

On his way back, he diverted onto a maze of streets, wanting to clear his head. What he was not expecting however was a few doors away from where he was currently walking, the front door banged open and a woman came storming out, glower centred onto him.

Natalie Woods had her nephew, niece and their friends tucked up in the living room and it was only upon staring out the window of the living room and, aided by a brief description, was she able to spot and identify the man marching along the road. She hadn't had time to explain to the children what her plan was and she hoped that they would all stay back whilst she confronted this 'Computer Director'. Natalie had enough common sense to not make it obvious who the specific children were hiding in her house, but she would threaten him whatever the outcome.

"Hey, you! I need to talk to you!"

The Headmaster stopped, eyes rolling behind his dark glasses. All he needed was some clarity, but instead, he was being approached by annoying members of the public!

"Yes, Madam. How can I help?"

"Listen mate," Natalie crossed her arms over her chest in an act of intimidation. "I know that you're the 'Computer Director' and I've just had my daughter come home to me, frightened out of her wits. Don't bother explaining anything to me. You lured them into a scheme that is for your own benefit. You're not going anywhere near my daughter, believe me, because I will ring the police."

Suddenly, the sound of sirens blared nearby and Natalie smiled in triumph.

"They're probably for you. I guess someone else must have seen you chasing down children and called the authorities on you. So, I suggest that you leave this area _right now._ "

The Headmaster cursed this woman in his head, wanting to hypnotise her into letting him go, but not wanting to take the risk as she could be Immune to his powers. Nodding his head in understanding, the Headmaster turned back the way he had come and strode forwards, intending to reach the tower without any hesitation. He would need to think up a new plan, one that would be utterly flawless to stop any interfering brats from taking him down a third time.

Natalie watched the man storm off and pumped her fist into the air, before dashing back inside, closing the door behind her. Five nervous heads popped out of the living room and into the hall-way. Natalie grinned at them.

"Don't worry, he's gone and I have a feeling he won't be staying in this area too long. You're all safe."


	18. Chapter Eighteen: Home

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: HOME**

The train ride back to their neighbourhood was torturous for Ingrid. The others were chatting like normal, but instead of involving herself, she sat back and dwelled in her own thoughts. Not once had they apologised for their treatment of her during the whole Octopus ordeal and they would understand her frustration when Harvey came back from Aero Camp, because when he was back, she planned to spend all her free time with him until the rest of SPLAT apologised.

After getting off the train at their stop, they carried their luggage back to the Hunter home. Lloyd and Dinah greeted Mrs Hunter with a kiss on the cheek and a hug, Mandy and Ian smiling warmly at her. Ingrid, on the other hand, simply slumped on the sofa, playing with the threads of her cardigan. Mrs Hunter noticed this reaction and waiting for the other children to sit down, addressed Ingrid.

"What's wrong? It looks like something is bothering you."

Ingrid sighed. "It was the competition. It sucked. Dinah got ripped off by the guy who ran it and the competition wasn't even legit. So, we've had a bad trip."

"What about round Natalie's? Did you enjoy that?"

"Best part," She sighed again. "Sorry, Mrs Hunter, but it turned out to be a disappointment."

"Well, that's a shame and hopefully we'll be able to get a refund on that Salamander computer, Dinah, if you don't want it."

Dinah stilled at her mother's words, only remembering where her Salamander was, or more like, where she had left it.

"I'm sorry, Mum, but I left it at the tower."

Teresa shook her head, smiling to show that she wasn't mad. "That's completely fine, darling. You don't need to worry about that now."

Dinah smiled back as Ingrid made her excuses to go home.

* * *

"How was the trip?"

"Crap, crap, crap… and did I mention? _Crap."_

"Was it really that bad?" Mrs Smith asked as her daughter climbed onto one of the bar stools by the kitchen counter.

"Yeah, it sucked. But there is some good news to come out of it." Ingrid grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl and took a huge bite out of the apple skin, chomping loudly. "The Octopus has gone."

"That thing you hated? How do you know?"

"Gut feeling." She swallowed the apple piece. "And I have a feeling that next time I go to the Computer Club, the game will be barred or something."

"You're going back to the Computer Club?" Her mother asked in amazement, certain that her daughter would never set foot in that place again.

"Yeah. If the Octopus game is finished, then there's nothing stopping me going in there now."

Ingrid grinned, changing the topic.

"Besides, Harvey's coming home in a few weeks and I need this time to go fast so I can see him as soon as possible. If I spend a lot of my time there, then the next few weeks will fly by and I'll be able to see him again."


	19. Chapter Nineteen: Enter Harvey

**CHAPTER NINETEEN: ENTER HARVEY**

She waited at the train station, dolled up in her only summer dress, but unable to resist slipping her feet into a pair of Reebok trainers. She rocked back and forth on her feet, checking the station clock every couple of minutes. Harvey's train was due in five minutes and Ingrid was so filled up with excitement that she was sure she would explode with glee.

The minutes ticked by agonisingly slowly, but eventually, the train pulled in and the doors opened, Harvey stepping out onto the platform with his luggage.

"Harv-Harv!"

She threw herself at him, arms encircling his neck and a smattering of kisses applied to his face. Harvey stumbled back from the sudden affection, but recovered enough to smile. When Ingrid had pulled away, he laughed.

"Nice version of hello. Thanks, Ing." He took a deep breath, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer. "Did you miss me?"

Ingrid whacked his arm heavily, pulling a face. "Course I have, stupid!" She linked arms with him and waited for him to have a secure grip on his luggage, before they both ambled out of the station and towards the SPLAT shed.

"It's been hell, Harvey. Seriously, that whole Octopus crap sucked. Turns out the Headmaster was behind it all along and I was the only one Immune. Well, I know you weren't taken in by it, so I guess we're both Masterminds, but it was horrible. SPLAT have been really mean to me since I stopped the Headmaster's plan. Like they've been talking to me and stuff, but they haven't apologised for ignoring me and treating me like an outcast. I've missed you anyways, but when I was treated like nothing, it made me miss you even more."

Harvey took in all of this information with shock, body trembling when he heard mention of the Headmaster and how the man had become involved in their lives once again.

She continued to update him with more details, Harvey grabbing her hand when she described her ordeal with the birdcage. Harvey felt rage flare up within him. He wasn't a particularly violent individual, but if he had been confronted with the Headmaster _right now…_

Ingrid finished off her tale just as they arrived outside the shed, surprised to see that Harvey's face was burning bright red. Usually, that only happened when he was either near tears or left in humiliation.

Lips tight, Harvey marched up to the shed door and banged loudly on the door. Any noise within the shed dissipated, only for one voice to pipe up:

"What's the password?"

Harvey wrenched open the door and glared within. "Listen to me."

He banged the door closed behind him, leaving Ingrid out in the sun with the luggage. She smiled as she heard Harvey bellowing within, glad that someone was sticking up for her.

Ten minutes later, the door creaked open and Harvey stepped out, sheepish members of SPLAT following. Harvey came over to Ingrid and put his hand on her waist, snapping:

"Apologise to my girlfriend right now. I know the Octopus wasn't your fault and it caused a divide in the group, but we're SPLAT and we need to go back to normal."

Lloyd was horrified over the actual fact that he had been _told off_ by his little brother, but he understood why, so led the way by apologising to Ingrid. She nodded at his apology, repeating her action as one by one, each member delivered their own apology.

Ingrid smiled at the end, saying snarkily: "Now wasn't that easy? Come on, Harvey's back, we need to celebrate! Let's go to an Octopus free Computer Club!"


	20. Chapter Twenty: Computer Club Again

**CHAPTER TWENTY: COMPUTER CLUB AGAIN**

Ingrid was by Harvey's side as she vowed to be, leaving the rest of SPLAT to linger in one corner of the Computer Club, now bored of the premises. For one, there were no games that they were interested in anymore and the ones they did try out, just couldn't compare to Octopus Dare.

Harvey and Ingrid shared a computer, the latter sitting on her boyfriend's lap as they played a racing game, both of them shoving the mouse to speed the little car around the track.

"Oh, we lost! Harvey, you should have let _me_ drive!"

"Then the car would have crashed into the wall." Harvey sniggered.

"Funny." Ingrid rolled her eyes, before catching sight of SPLAT. "Hah, seems like some people aren't enjoying themselves."

Harvey glanced over and smiled sadly. "I can imagine that's how you were."

"Yeah," She snorted. "But no one sympathised with me. They can deal with it. This club will be gone by the end of the summer and we'll all be best friends again. But right now, we're going to play this game again and _win_."

Harvey's smile went from sad to happy. "One more round, then we'll join the others. It's not fair to leave them out."

"But-"

" _Ing._ We're SPLAT, we stick together." Harvey focussed his gaze back onto the screen, muttering: "Even if some of us are taken in by a lame Octopus."

The entire room became focussed on the couple as Ingrid's braying laugh overwhelmed everybody's gaming experience.


End file.
